Saved by the Bell

What’s the Story?

Surviving a variety of incarnations, SAVED BY THE BELL is a positive series about school, friends, and lessons learned. The show offers a world that reflects the ultimate high school experience, as seen through the eyes of Zack. At Bayside High, Zack, Screech, and Lisa are joined by good-looking transfer student A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), sweet Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), and intellectual over-achiever Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley). The Bayside clique is a diverse but tight-knit social circle that most junior and senior high school students can only dream about. Plots range from the silly (Zack and Slater bet on who can kiss a girl the longest), to the romantic (Zack skips the prom when girlfriend Kelly can't afford to attend), all the way to the serious (underage drinking and driving, and pill addiction).

Is It Any Good?

It's all pretty cheesy, but it's also well-intentioned. At the end of each show, lessons are learned -- lessons that are often guided by Principal Belding or, when dealing with more major issues, a parent. The show's adults, while often presented more as caricatures than real people, are respected and are received as mentors by the kids. But as is the case with most average teens, sexual innuendos (albeit innocent ones) and mild profanity are an integral part of the Bayside teens' lingo. While the significance of these words clearly goes over the head of most young children, they're clear enough for preteens to understand. Saved by the Bell offers an opportunity for viewers to watch relatively good kids learn from their mistakes and grow from the process.